banks are also ‘testing the limits’ of their social licences by shortchanging savers and failing to be upfront with existing customers about the lowest rates they could possibly offer.

Many savers at big banks are still languishing on rates that have risen far less than the quantum of RBA rate hikes, while new loan customers continue to get better deals than existing ones.

“They need to be careful they aren’t seen to be profiteering,” Humphery-Jenner said.

“When the government puts you in a position where you’re insulated from competition … then it is incumbent upon those companies to act in an appropriate manner.”

Source: How banks profit from high interest rates as they test ‘social licence’